Many aerial vehicles (e.g., manned or unmanned vehicles such as airplanes, helicopters or other airships) are configured to operate in two or more flight modes. As one example, an aerial vehicle may be configured to engage in forward flight, or substantially horizontal flight, a mode in which the aerial vehicle travels from one point in space (e.g., a land-based point or, alternatively, a sea-based or air-based point) to another point by traveling over at least a portion of the Earth. In forward flight, the aerial vehicle may be maintained aloft by one or more net forces of lift that are typically induced by airflow passing over and below wings, consistent with a pressure gradient. As another example, an aerial vehicle may be configured to engage in vertical flight, a mode in which the aerial vehicle travels in a vertical or substantially vertical direction from one altitude to another altitude (e.g., upward or downward, from a first point on land, on sea or in the air to a second point in the air, or vice versa) substantially normal to the surface of the Earth, or hovers (e.g., maintains a substantially constant altitude), with an insubstantial change in horizontal or lateral position. In vertical flight, the aerial vehicle may be maintained aloft by one or more net forces of lift that are typically induced by rotating blades of a propeller or another source. As yet another example, an aerial vehicle may be configured to engage in both forward and vertical flight, a hybrid mode in which a position of the aerial vehicle changes in both horizontal and vertical directions.
An aerial vehicle that is configured to operate in multiple modes may utilize one or more propulsion systems and/or control surfaces (e.g., wings, rudders, flaperons, elevons, elevators, ailerons, flaps or other components) at different times, depending on requirements of a given mission in which the aerial vehicle is to operate in each of such modes. For example, an aerial vehicle may utilize a first set of motors or rotors when operating in forward flight, and a second set of motors or rotors when operating in horizontal flight. Likewise, the aerial vehicle may utilize a first set of control surfaces when operating in horizontal flight, and a second set of control surfaces when operating in vertical flight.